When can it be said that internal displacement has ended and a durable solution for IDPs has been found? To answer this question, The Brookings Institution - University of Bern Project on Internal Displacement and the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University, at the request of the Representative of the U.N. Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Walter Kälin, undertook an extensive inquiry. The result of this process was the creation of the Framework for Durable Solutions, which shows that the ending of displacement occurs not at one point in time but is a gradual process.

When Displacement Ends: A Framework for Durable Solutions helps to define the situations when it can be said that displacement has ended and those formerly displaced no longer require the specific attention given to them as IDPs. This solution is created through processes and marked by conditions on the ground. This publication identifies the processes through which a durable solution can be found, as well as the conditions that mark a durable solution.

As stated in the publication's Foreword by the Representative, this Framework "is intended to assist governments in devising national legislation, policies and programs that promote solutions to internal displacement. It is also expected to provide guidance to international organizations to assist their work in different country contexts, in particular to promote a coherent transition from humanitarian aid to reconstruction and development ... . The Framework also should enable civil society organizations to monitor the extent to which governments fulfill their responsibility to find durable solutions for IDPs and as a basis for their own work promoting the creation of conditions enabling these solutions."